The present invention relates to a small lightweight portable computer called a mobile terminal, and an information providing method and system in which an information server provides the mobile terminal with appropriate service information which the mobile terminal desires and which is related or strongly correlated to an area where the mobile terminal is present, depending on the position of the mobile terminal.
The invention which provides the user of a mobile terminal with very convenient meticulous services by using information on the position of the terminal is disclosed in JP-A-5-102906, entitled xe2x80x9cMobile Communication Systemxe2x80x9d. In this invention, the user who is able to know his position, using a car navigation system, sends information on the user""s position through a car telephone to a service center and downloads the newest information on a possible traffic jam and/or a map concerning his position from the service center. Another invention discloses that without receiving information on the user""s position expressly from the user, an area in which the user is present is presumed on the basis of a position of a base station for car telephones, and service information on a possible traffic jam, etc., in that area is downloaded.
In the above conventional techniques, when the newest map data is to be obtained to know the newest route situation on route interruption due to road works and/or opening of a new route, the data transmission rate through the car telephone is low, for example 2.4 kbps whereas compressed map data still reaches several tens of kilobytes or more. Thus, the car travels about several kilometers during only the time taken for sending the retrieved map data and necessary information can not be obtained on a real time basis. Actually, radio transmission by the car telephone provides low quality data and a bit error is likely to occur. For ensuring purposes, re-transmission of data is required and hence it is difficult to receive necessary information on a real time basis.
In the above conventional inventions, for example, information on the occurrence of a traffic jam over a specified length of a specified road in a specified area in the vicinity of user""s position is given to user in response to the user""s inquiry. Thus, unless the user has a knowledge about a route in which a traffic jam is likely to occur, the user does not know the timing in which the user inquires about such information, would be involved in the traffic jam, and wishes to obtain information as to how many hours it would take from the occurrence of the traffic jam to its disappearance. However, the user should rather know which route the user should select to reach his destination in a minimum time when a traffic jam occurs on his selected route than he knows how much time it would take from the implication of the user into the traffic jam to the clearance of the jam.
It is therefore an object of the present. invention to provide a communication method capable of providing the user with proper information on a real time basis and a mobile terminal preferred for carrying out this communication method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a communication method which transfers proper information to the user at appropriate timing and a mobile terminal preferred for carrying out this communication method.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention loads service information beforehand on a mobile terminal. Specifically, the present invention provides a method of providing information from an information server to a mobile terminal in a system which includes the mobile terminal, the information server being connected to a database, a network connected to the information server, and a terminal connected to the network for providing various information for the information server, including the steps of connecting the mobile terminal to the network and when information on the current place and destination of the mobile terminal is input, and reporting the input information on the current place and destination to the information server through the network; causing the information server to determine the whole area containing the current place and destination of the mobile terminal when the information server receives from the mobile terminal a report of information on the current place and destination of the mobile terminal, and to send service information containing positional information corresponding to the whole area through the network to the mobile terminal; and causing the mobile terminal to store in storage the received service information containing positional information corresponding to the whole area, to cut the connection to the network and to output the beforehand stored service information in accordance with the user""s request.
The present invention also provides a method of providing information from an information server to a mobile terminal in a system which includes the mobile terminal, the information server connected to a data-base, a network connected to the information server, and a terminal connected to the network for providing various information for the information server, wherein the mobile terminal is connected to a portable telephone set so as to be connected to the network, and connected to a GPS which stores information on its position periodically in a memory, and when the mobile terminal receives information on the present place of the GPS from the GPS and input information on a destination of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal informs through the network the information server of the information on the current place and the destination of the mobile terminal; when the information server receives from the mobile terminal information on the current place and destination, the information server determines the whole area containing the current place and destination, and sends service information containing positional information corresponding to the whole area through the network to the mobile terminal; and the mobile terminal stores in storage the received service information containing the positional information corresponding to the whole area, cutting the connection to the network, and outputs the beforehand stored service information in accordance with the user""s request.
According to the present invention, in the above method, the mobile terminal sends information on its current place periodically through the network to the information server, and the information server sends the service information periodically through the network to the mobile terminal.
According to the present invention, in the above method, when the information server receives the information on the current place of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal, the information server compares the service information on the area sent previously to the mobile terminal and service information on an area to be sent this time, and when the service information on the area to be sent this time is different from that sent previously, the information server sends the service information on the area to be sent this time through the network to the mobile terminal.
According to the present invention, in the above method, the mobile terminal produces history information by storing information on the position of the mobile terminal periodically, determines the next area from the produced history information, reports information on the next area to the information server through the network and inquires of the information server service information on the next area.
According to the present invention, in the above method, the service information on the whole area containing the current place and destination of the mobile terminal sent from the information server is stored as compressed data in external storage of the mobile terminal, the service information on the next area stored in the external storage is read when the determined service information on the next area is not stored in a RAM of the mobile terminal, the read service information is decompressed, and the decompressed information is stored in the RAM of the mobile terminal.